Armenian Army
The Armenian Army ( ) is the largest branch of the Armed Forces of Armenia and consists of the ground forces responsible for the country's land-based operations. It was established in conjunction with the other components of Armenia's military on January 28, 1992, several months after the republic declared its independence from the Soviet Union.Balance in Europe 2011"., March 07, 2011. The army's first head was the former deputy commander-in-chief of the main staff of the Soviet Ground Forces, Norat Ter-Grigoryants.Petrosyan, David. "Formation and Development of Armenian Armed Forces." Moscow Defence Brief. Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, Moscow, 6-2002, accessed November 2009. Ter-Grigoryants had previously served with the 40th Army (Soviet Union) in Afghanistan as chief of staff, supervising operations in May 1982 http://allruswars.ru/phgksm.html. In compliance with its strategic allies, Armenia has sent over 1,500 officers to be trained in Greece and Russia.Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Armenia. General History of the Armenian Army. Retrieved January 31, 2006. Since the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh War, Armenia has committed many elements of the army to help bolster the defense and defend the unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh from a possible renewal of hostilities with neighboring Azerbaijan. Jane's World Armies reports that both conscripts and officers from Armenia are routinely sent for duty to Karabakh, often posted to the frontline between Karabakh Armenian and Azerbaijani forces. History The Armenian army's history is described to have gone through three different stages. It entered the first stage in February 1988, from the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict where Armenian militias were formed to combat growing hostilities in the region against similar Azeri units with the impending break of the Soviet Union. The second phase of the development of the army began in 1992, several months after Armenia had declared its independence. Ter-Grigoryants and civilian officials in the Armenian Ministry of Defense including Vazgen Manukyan and Vazgen Sargsyan sought to establish a "small, well-balanced, combat-ready defense force."Curtis, Glenn E. and Ronald G. Suny. "Armenia," in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia Country Studies, ed. Glenn E. Curtis. Washington D.C.: Federal Research Division Library of Congress, 1995, p. 72. The third phase began after the end of the war and continues on until today. Most of the army's staff officers were members of the former Soviet military as an estimated 5,000 Armenians were serving as high level officers in it prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union.Mirsky, Georgiy I. On Ruins of Empire: Ethnicity and Nationalism in the Former Soviet Union. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997, p. 63. ISBN 0-313-30044-5. Almost immediately after its independence, Armenia was embroiled in the Nagorno-Karabakh War with neighboring Azerbaijan. Intending to establish a force of 30,000 men, the army's standing force increased to 50,000 by early 1994. During the war, the military remained on high alert and bolstered defenses in the region of Zangezur, opposite of the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan to its west. Purported artillery bombardment in May 1992 from the region led to skirmishes between the two sides including the Armenian army's incursion into several of the villages. Since 1994, the army has taken an active role in ensuring the defense of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in conjunction with the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army.See Richard Giragosian, "Armenia and Karabakh: One Nation, Two States." AGBU Magazine. № 1, Vol. 19, May 2009, pp. 12-13. International deployments The Armenian army has collaborated in several international missions with the West. On February 12, 2004, Armenia deployed a platoon-sized unit (three squads) to Kosovo as a part of the Greek peacekeeping battalion. The unit, known as the Peacekeeping Forces of Armenia, is headquartered in Camp "REGAS FEREOS" as a part of the Multi-National Task Force East and is tasked with maintaining vehicle check points, providing security for the base but also serves as a quick reaction force and crowd and riot control.Kosovo Force. KFOR Contingent: Armenia. KFOR. Last updated January 24, 2006. Accessed February 9, 2007. In 2008, the KFOR unit was expanded, adding a second platoon plus company staff (bringing Armenia's contingent to about 85 personnel).NATO’s relations with Armenia. NATO. Retrieved November 29, 2009. In the autumn of 2004, the Armenian government approved the dispatch of a 46-man contingent from the army consisting of sappers, engineers and doctors under Polish command as part of the Multinational Force in Iraq. On November 10, 2006, Senior Lieutenant Georgy Nalbandyan was injured in a mine explosion in Iraq but survived after being transported for surgery to a hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, near Ramstein Air Base."Armenian peacekeeper to undergo two more surgeries." Public Radio of Armenia. November 20, 2006. Retrieved February 1, 2007. On October 6, 2008, due to improving security conditions, the contingent's tour of duty came to an end.Glassey, Eric. "Armenians Complete Successful Mission." Multinational Force in Iraq. October 7, 2008. Accessed September 6, 2009. In July 2009, the Defense Minister of Armenia, Seyran Ohanyan, announced that Armenia would send a force to participate with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the War in Afghanistan by the end of the year. He did not mention how large the force would be but did note that it probably would include munitions experts and communications officers. A MOD spokesmen also stated that the force would include medical specialists and translators as well. Ohanyan added that Armenian officers who served in the Soviet military during the Soviet War in Afghanistan also expressed the desire to return there as members of the new force."Armenia to send forces to Afghanistan this year." Armenian Reporter. July 24, 2009. Retrieved September 6, 2009. In November 2009, a NATO official affirmed that an Armenian contingent numbering 30 troops will join the ISAF sometime in early 2010."Armenia To Send Troops To Afghanistan." RFE/RL. November 09, 2009. Retrieved November 29, 2009. That number was revised to 40 in early December, when the Armenian parliament overwhelmingly voted in approval of the contingent's deployment. The servicemen arrived in Afghanistan in February 2010, where, under German command, they are tasked to defend the regional airport in Kunduz."Armenian Parliament Endorses Troop Deployment To Afghanistan." RFE/RL. December 8, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2010. There are currently 126 servicemen in Afghanistan.International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The Military Balance 2012. London: Routledge, 2012, pp. 90-91. Organization General Staff * Colonel-General Seyran Ohanyan - Defense Minister * Colonel-General Mikael Harutyunyan - Chief Military Inspector and Presidential Advisor * Colonel-General Gurgen Daribaltayan — Deputy head of Chief of Staff and special military adviser to current president, Serzh Sargsyan * Colonel-General Harut Kassabyan - Commander of Capital Guard * Lieutenant-General Aghik Myurzabekyan * Lieutenant-General Arthur Aghabekyan * Lieutenant-General Yuri Khachaturov * Lieutenant-General Gurgen Melkonyan * Lieutenant-General Roland Kereshyan Academies * Monte Melkonian Military Academy * Vazgen Sargsyan Military Academy Field Forces *1st Army Corps (HQ Goris):Jane's World Armies Armenia, October 2004. one independent tank battalion, one independent reconnaissance battalion, two motor rifle regiments. *2nd Army Corps (HQ Khachaghbyur): one independent tank battalion, one independent reconnaissance battalion, one independent rifle regiment, two independent motor rifle regiments, one independent artillery battalion. *3rd Army Corps (HQ Vanadzor): one independent rifle regiment, one independent artillery battalion, one independent tank battalion, one independent reconnaissance battalion, one independent rocket artillery battalion, four independent motor rifle regiments, one maintenance battalion, one signals battalion. *4th Army Corps (HQ Yeghegnadzor): four independent motor rifle regiments, an independent self-propelled artillery battalion, one signals battalion. *5th Army Corps (HQ Nubarashen in Yerevan): two fortified areas, one independent motor rifle regiment, one independent rifle regiment. *Army-level Troops: one air and air defence joint command (Jane's World Armies mentions an Army Air and Air Defence at Chobankara under Colonel Ararat Hambarian), one training motor rifle brigade, one special forces regiment (Jane's World Armies mentions a regiment at Nubarashen under Colonel Artur Simonian), one artillery brigade, one self-propelled artillery regiment, one anti-tank regiment, one engineer regiment with demining centre, one surface-to-air missile brigade, two surface-to-air missile regiments, one radiotechnical (radar) regiment. Brinkster.net reported in 2004 that according to media reports, the Army included the 555th Motor Rifle Regiment,See Human Rights Watch/Helsinki Watch, Azerbaijan: Seven years of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, New York: Human Rights Watch, 1994, p. 69. the 83rd Motor Rifle Brigade (Dasheksan), the 1st Motor Rifle Brigade, the 7th Fortified Region (Gyumri), the 9th Fortified Region (Etchmiadzin), a Motor Rifle Regiment (Etchmiadzin), the 538th Motor Rifle Regiment (Ağdaban), a Motor Rifle Regiment (Shushi), and the 545th Motor Rifle Regiment. Equipment Small arms Vehicles The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) reported in 2013 that the Armenian Army had: Other mobile rocket artillery.]] mobile anti-aircraft units on parade in Yerevan.|250px]] Anti-aircraft * S-300PM - Surface-to-air missile * SA-4 Ganef - Surface-to-air missile * 2K12 Kub - Surface-to-air missile * S-75 - Surface-to-air missile * S-125 - Surface-to-air missile * 9K33 Osa - Surface-to-air missile * ZSU-23-4 - Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon * ZU-23-2 - Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon * 57 mm AZP S-60 - Anti-aircraft gun Artillery ' * SCUD-BDanielyan, Emil. "Armenia Parades Military Might On Independence Day." ''RFE/RL. September 21, 2011. Retrieved April 1, 2013. - Tactical ballistic missile launcher * BM-30 SmerchAn unspecified number are in service in the army, according to Armenian Defense Ministry officials, with plans to acquire more: "Armenian Military 'Interested' In Acquiring Russian Rocket Artillery." RFE/RL. June 9, 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2011. - multiple rocket launcher * BM-21 GRAD - multiple rocket launcher (47) * OTR-21 Tochka - Tactical ballistic missile * 9А51 "Prima" - multiple rocket launcher * WM-80 - multiple rocket launcher (4) * AR1A 300 mm"New Chinese Rockets ‘Acquired By Armenia’." RFE/RL. August 19, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2013. - multiple rocket launcher * 2S3 Akatsiya - Self-propelled artillery (28) * 2S1 Gvozdika - Self-propelled artillery (10) * D-20 - Howitzer (34) * D-30 - Howitzer (90) * 152 mm gun 2A36 - Field gun (26) * T-12 antitank gunJane's Armour and Artillery, 2003-2004 - Anti-tank gun (36) '''Radar systems * P-12 radar * P-15 radar * P-40 radar See also * Military history of Armenia * Armenian Air Force * Armenian Air Defense Notes External links *Ministry Of Defence of The Republic Of Armenia Category:Armies by country Category:Military of Armenia Category:Military units and formations established in 1992